Hedgehog-Wrecked
by xiXlToxiclXix
Summary: During one of their many fights to the death, Sonic and Shadow take a turn for the worst when they find themselves trapped on a 'deserted' island, due to Chaos energy circumstances. Will the adversaries continue to try and kill each other? Or will they work together to find their way back to civilisation?
1. All Washed Up

**Well, I came up with another idea.**

**This has been written down for a while now, and I kinda improved it a bit whilst it was. **

**I have no idea where I got the idea from, most probably from Shadow and Sonic's rivalry relationship. (Anyone noticed that in ALMOST every game, they try to kill each other constantly?)**

**Enjoy, and let me know if this needs continuing. I need to get more motivated on my stories.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog. All related characters go to SEGA.**

**-V-**

The sun set on the lapping waves, creating several, exotic sounds for nearby beings to hear. Seagulls flew about the coast, searching for any nearby scraps they could find. The wind blew about, gently, allowing an animal to feel the soothing feel along his spiny quills. The blue fur stood out highly within the yellow sand, contrasting much more than regular. The red and white, pointed shoes sat on the edge of the liquid lashing out at the petite rocks known as sand. Emerald irises were hidden behind those blue eyelids, which were currently sleeping, or so it seemed. The said hedgehog stirred a little.

"Get up, Faker."

No result, it seemed.

The blue hedgehog groaned quietly, as crimson irises glared at his azure body. The owner of those crimson irises, was no other than a well known adversary of the unconscious mammal.

Red streaks topped the rival's spiked up quills, standing out from his black fur. Crimson irises, as mentioned before, could shoot a look which could clearly intimidate, or kill (If looks could kill). Sat on his feet, were jet propeller shoes, for such that could be used for skating at high speeds easily, which could be matched to that of the 'fastest thing alive'. Golden rings were situated around his wrists, and his ankles, which, logically, held back true power over such a time. White fur sat on his chest. Arms were folded at the sight of the blue hedgehog on the ground; Shadow seemed to be disappointed.

After a few moments, the unaware hedgehog, sprawled on the ground, began to stir once more. With a struggle, the blue hero pulled himself up, half-wise, and sat down on the sand. He rubbed his head, and glanced about, seeing nothing but the coast, and the familiar-looking black hedgehog. Obviously bewildered, the animal tried to stand, only to fail.

Shadow raised an eye ridge.

"Wha...?"

"About time you got up."

The hero turned his gaze to the red eyes which had their attention firmly on him. To be honest, he'd rather he hadn't. Folding his arms, he eyed his counterpart in the same way.

The stare could have lasted at least an hour.

After the rapid speed of the staring contest drew to an end, the blue one pulled himself up, and, much to Shadow's dismay, without difficulty. The smile on the carefree hedgehog's muzzle was not easily hidden from the ebony hedgehog's sights, who in turn, glared at his adversary.

"What's so amusing, Faker?"

The smile grew somewhat humorous.

"Well, just been thinking... about how I'm gonna' beat ya' to the finish line." The cocky expression didn't change. The blue blur closed his eyes, the smile on his muzzle growing more confident. Shadow's expression, however, didn't change.

"Not a very surprising attitude... Onto other matters, haven't you noticed something? Or is your eyesight a failure, also?"

"Ha, ha. Very funny, Shadow." 'Faker' stretched, before looking about the area.

The coast was edged with a thick forest, or jungle. High, shrill sounds reverberated through the air, as the seagulls flew about, trying to search for any such food that could be found.

The hedgehog stopped, his ears pricked up and twitching at a noise.

Lapping.

Lapping waves.

Lapping waves equalled... water.

The 'fastest thing alive' turned around, seeing nothing but the dreaded ocean. His eyes widened.

"What the...?!"

Sonic gawped at the ocean, quite incredulously.

It seemed go _pretty far_. There didn't seem to be any other sources of land for miles.

The black blur, behind Sonic, shook his head, the frown present on his tanned muzzle.

"We're stuck here, Faker. So, get used to it..."

"Really? Stuck... Stuck _here_?" Sonic turned his gaze to the 'Ultimate Life Form', disbelieving the rival's choice of words. Shadow nodded emotionlessly. The blue blur gave a grin, which seemed to have a hint of the hysterical tone. "You've gotta' be kidding!"

"Would I joke about this, Faker?"

"Heh, well..." Shadow gave him Death's glare. Sonic's hands flailed a bit. "Okay, pal! You're not joking..." Sonic gave a sigh, rolling his eyes as his head shook. Shadow continued folding his arms, his expression still unchanged as he stared at the incoming waves which were beating across the sand. Sonic just stood there, his gloved hand resting on his muzzle.

After a few moments, Sonic's expression lit up.

"Hey, Shadow?" Sonic snapped his fingers.

"Hm?" Shadow's ears twitched, as his gaze still rested on the ocean. "What now, Faker?"

"How 'bout telling me where the Chaos Emeralds are, buddy?" A few moments of silence occurred, as the black hedgehog seemed to be thinking the question over. Sonic, still rubbing his muzzle, was quite stumped for ideas if his idea wouldn't work. After more silence was added, Shadow turned around, and began walking away, slowly. Sonic pouted at this. "Hey, Shadow! Hold on a second!" Ignoring the remark, Shadow continued walking, heading towards the jungle, it seemed. As he answered back, almost in a mutter, the irritation in his voice was slowly shown, as it seemed to crawl out from the back of his throat, becoming bitterer every second.

Glaring at the blue blur from the back of his sclera with his crimson irises, he asked, "'We', Faker? Since when was there any, 'We'?"

"That ain't the point!" Sonic shrugged, eyes narrowed at the rival.

Obviously annoyed, Shadow stopped. The irritated frown could clearly be seen on his muzzle. Still, he didn't turn around. Much to his annoyance, the blue demon caught up, still giving his own concerned look. Narrowing his crimson orbs, the dark hedgehog turned his head slightly.

"It wouldn't work."

"Why not?" Sonic's question had the most obvious answer.

"None of us possess a Chaos Emerald..." With that, Shadow continued his 'stroll' yet again.

"Eh? Yeah, we do!" As you can imagine, the black hedgehog was annoyed with the persistence, and for the lack of observation his rival possessed sometimes.

Continuing his walk, the rival answered slowly under his breath, "No, we do not. Neither of us does."

"That doesn't make any sense at all, Shadow!" The cocky grin sparked on the blue blur's muzzle. "Ya' know, if I didn't know better, I'd say you're _hiding_ the emeralds, when both of us clearly need them to get off the... _island_!"

Shadow stopped again, a slight hint of his knowing smirk on his muzzle. "Why the big rush, Sonic?"

The blue hedgehog seemed to hesitate, not exactly sure what to answer with. "Uh, let's say I have to go kick some Egghead butt, and—" Whilst staring worriedly at the ocean from the corner of his emerald irises, Sonic was interrupted.

Shadow turned around, the smirk much easier to see. "You're scared of a little water?" Sonic didn't answer, but instead gave his own glare, which failed when he was touched on the brim of his shoe by an incoming wave. Another frown fell on Shadow's muzzle, as if disappointed slightly. "Pathetic."

"Don't mock me, pal! Bet you have fears, too!"

"Don't challenge **me**, Faker. Save us both the effort." The smirk rose again on the ebony one's muzzle.

"Hah. Yeah, right. Where are they?" Sonic tapped his foot irritably.

The ebony hedgehog replaced his smirk with a stern frown. "If I knew anything about the emeralds, would I tell you?"

"Exactly! So, spit it out!"

"You don't tend to listen well, do you, Faker?" Eyes were narrowed at the blue hedgehog, who was seeming just as childish as a young boy.

In reply, Sonic merely folded his arms, his foot still tapping on the sand. Narrowing his eyes in return, he glanced behind Shadow, seeing the thick jungle. Mist seemed to shroud those green plants, shielding the area in more mystery than intended. Pushing those thoughts aside for a moment, Sonic turned his attention back to his rival, barely hearing the ocean's waves as he did so.

With the lapping waves, it was almost hard to stay sane.

The darker hedgehog turned around, making his way towards the jungle to his own accord. Ignoring the hydrophobic hedgehog, he continued walking, slowly, towards the grass which stood a few feet away. His jet shoes pounded gently against the yellow sand, leaving footprints as they went. Soon enough, that soft feel faded, as it reached a more rugged terrain belonging to the jungle. Thankfully, the irritating, blue blur left Shadow's sight, also.

**-V-**

Sonic yelped as a wave touched the back of his shoe. Hydrophobia wasn't such a good thing for him, and it wouldn't be. Him, the big hero, scared of water? Seemed very hard to believe. Sonic stepped away from the edge of the coast, eying the water with cautiousness. His glare was quite intense, as if he was stating, 'I'm watching you,' which was a particularly strange thing to say to an object which hardly had a mind of it's own, or such.

Giving a slight shudder at the thought of falling in, Sonic grimaced, imagining the cold water...

Ugh!

Why was he even thinking about that?

Quickly blocking out the sounds, he resumed his quest to find a solution to the terrible conflict. Water was his weakness, and he didn't like to admit it. But when he's surrounded by it? Not very comforting.

He didn't really like the sea.

And he would've thought many others would have the same opinion... but they didn't.

No.

They had to go building islands around the ocean! They just had to!

Oh, well. He couldn't do much about it now. He needed to find a way to escape the death trap.

He didn't have any Chaos Emeralds, and knowing Shadow, he probably knew where they were... or did he? He sure acted like he did.

It was possible.

And, he might find them faster, if Shadow did know.

Thoughts struck him, as Sonic folded his arms and huffed.

He'd probably have to work with the faker, if he wanted to leave that is.

And, he didn't think _Shadow _would like that idea.

Those thoughts struck him for a few more moments, until they left his mind briefly, only to return a few minutes later when he was truly stumped for ideas as to where the emeralds were.

"Heh, what a typical day to be stuck with Shadow..." he muttered, stretching whilst taking a few steps towards the jungle. Rubbing under his nose with his index finger, he gave a cocky smile. "Heh, heh. Well, I'll probably be able to fit a few races in later... instead of being stuck here in boring boredom... and..." He glared at the ocean, "And, I won't be stuck with the sea-guys."

A wave touched the back of his foot again, causing him to give a startled jump, and a worried expression.

"Hopefully, there ain't anymore aggressive waters in this place... the only water I wanna' see, is chilidog water..." His stomach growled at the mention of the preferred food, and in return, he rubbed it slowly.

Ignoring the seething sea, Sonic raced off after his rival.

**-V-**

**So, here we are. A new story.**

**Any reviews are nice. **

**Feedback is essential and awesome!**

**-Toxic : )**


	2. A Death Threat Already?

**Well, don't really have any thoughts on this right now. But thanks for the review, Lucy! : D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog. All other related characters go to SEGA.**

**-V-**

The blue blur took strides every few moments, taking in the magnificent view the flourishing jungle.

This place didn't seem so bad.

The breeze wafted through the blue one's quills, causing his smile to grow somewhat carefree. Walking wasn't his style, but it seemed quite okay at this moment in time, as the wind itself seemed a lot gentler. Most likely, it was a lot better than the harsh wind, only a tad, though.

Maybe he could get used to this—

He stopped.

Ears pricked up, twitching slightly as they picked up a faint noise in the distance. It was vague, but still quite easy to pick up if one concentrated.

Emerald irises scanned the area, seeing nothing but pure green belonging to the peaceful environment. Now that a few moments had occurred, Sonic could clearly hear the noise obstructing the silence. It was a somewhat natural sound, sounding very much like a strong gust of wind. It sounded somewhat similar to the noise which belonged to his daily runs.

The confused line on his muzzle shaped into a cocky grin, as he flashed looks around the area once more.

He barely caught the familiar flash of red.

"Heh. Well, look who it is!"

The hedgehog gave a jump-start, kicking his red and white shoes off the ground and taking off in the blink of an eye.

Dashing forward, the blue hero dashed to and thro throughout the trees, the vivid leaves hanging freely above his head. He quickly realised the same, comforting breeze from the past runs had already returned, to which he could not suppress a smile.

A root sprung upwards, causing the hedgehog to leap upwards and swerve towards a nearby tree branch. He reached the organic organism, and swung on the thick twig, before soaring through the air and landing on the green earth once more.

The floor gave a small noise, showing that impact had been made.

Sonic sped up further, dashing in and out of the many roots obstructing his path. Dodging the many obstacles, he proceeded with the same movements and methods, pushing himself through the jungle, eyes intent on the red colour. His blue pelt became somewhat darker as he entered the midst of the shade, slightly causing his sight to weaken on the being within the shadows.

**-V-**

Shadow came from his usual skating to a walk, slowly, his eyes targeting the road ahead. Jet shoes continued slamming against the ground in a quiet manner, their owner glancing about the area with morbid curiosity. The bright environment made him watch the area with quiet awe. However, within his mind, he wasn't much fascinated; instead, he was rather suspicious of the place.

Crimson orbs scanned the floor, as if they were searching for something to prove that something was truly wrong with the place. The golden rings slotted around his wrists and ankles glistened in the sunlight, which cracked through the branches above.

He continued walking, still quite cautious of his own surroundings.

It seemed... too quiet.

Too... peaceful.

There couldn't possibly be an area such as that, could there?

Plausibly, there could be more to this place than what met the eye.

The ebony creature stopped, his ears twitching just a tad.

A gust of wind was what got caught in his inceptors, and he found that vaguely familiar.

Straining his orbs to the back of his sclera, the red irises narrowed, as they failed to spot anything that could possibly show the male who it was.

Not bothering to turn around fully to investigate, he took off once more, jump-starting his artificial muscles into a run. The run slowly turned into skating, causing sparks to fly out beneath his feet.

He gained speed gradually, feet flying across the floor rather quickly at that moment in time.

The 'Ultimate Life Form' continued pushing himself throughout the vicinity, dodging many obstacles as he did so.

Left.

Right.

Left.

Jump.

Duck.

As the participant of what could be a death race, the hedgehog knew for a fact that something was following him, currently shown by the many twigs snapping within the shadows. The sound seemed to follow him everywhere, giving him the impression that his theory was, indeed, true, and as he predicted.

Shadow seemed slightly concerned by the fact that he was being followed, but perhaps the previous noise would help him to figure out who it was? It sounded nothing more than a mere breeze.

That's no reason to get all worried.

It could be his imagination.

Maybe it was?

Maybe it wasn't?

It seemed particularly hard to tell at that moment in time, what with everything being a rush.

Maybe he actually needed to consider that skill of, 'Thinking on your feet,' huh?

Shaking that thought off, his eyelids shut briefly, an idea brewing somewhere in his mind. As they reopened, the male launched himself upwards, landing on a nearby tree branch with little difficulty. His gloved hand rested on the trunk, the other by his side. As he reached the tree top, eyes scanned the area, searching for the follower in a restless manner.

Shadow thought he saw something, because it seemed to rush just beneath him, showing a small flash of bright crimson.

A grim line fell on his muzzle, his pupils dilating for a moment's time, only to narrow at the figure.

"**Whoa!"**

That sound caught him off guard, causing his spiked up quills to flick downwards and his head to flash a look upwards.

Up above, seemed to be a ragged cliff, battered and decayed. On top of that, laid thousands of trees looming over the edge, or so it seemed.

Shadow eyed the crag with suspicion, before turning his attention back to the red creature. Much to his dismay, the red thing, whatever it was, had already vanished from sight, and Shadow could no longer spot it anywhere.

A grunt of frustration erupted from his throat, before turning back to the vicinity which had once diverted his attention.

He could see fairly clearly, and his red eyes narrowed more firmly as they caught sight of a blue pelt, which seemed to be flailing about on one of the many edges of the cliff.

**-V-**

Sonic rushed forward, the cocky grin growing on his muzzle as he did so.

As he exited the jungle, the area brightened slightly, causing him to flash a look at the person he was chasing.

Eyes widened in shock, as they saw what he'd been truly following.

"What the...?"

He'd been chasing... a parrot.

A _red_, **colourful** parrot.

Did he get the colour blind disease from the humans?

Not paying attention to the road ahead, the hedgehog continued running, still thinking the matter over.

Had he been paying attention, he would've noticed the lack of land ahead.

The ground below the blue blur seemed to shake, vibrations travelling up the runner's spine.

"Huh?"

As the ground continued, rocks shot upwards from the craggy terrain, catching the blue hero off guard, which he barely dodged the consequence. He leapt about, darting throughout each one with desperate effort.

One by one, the rocks shot upwards like rockets, aiming to attack the intruder with devastating blows, which were dodged quite quickly each time.

Sonic leapt on the tips of each one, the amused grin on his muzzle still present. He continued this method, and yawned slightly, finding them a little dull for, what? A booby trap?

Landing firmly on the peaks, he used each one as a pedestal, possibly making them a bridge with little difficulty.

However, it wasn't until that he got too cocky, that he himself slipped up.

A sharp stone shot up unexpectedly from the side, striking the hedgehog's source of power: his leg.

Somersaults were made, and the male forward-flipped accidently, his reflexes taking charge as he groaned slightly. Eyes widened as he reached the cliff, which the flip ended at, causing him to be directly in front of the edge. He nearly fell, but his arms provided the balance he so desperately required.

A drop of sweat fell down his forehead, as he tried to get a good, firm grip on the ground.

He succeeded.

As he felt relief wash over him, he stared at the massive drop, shuddering a little.

"Heh. Guess luck comes a long way."

He managed to regain his posture, but glanced at the horrid scar on his right leg, which was slick with crimson liquid.

Emerald eyes narrowed at the wound, but only briefly. For a moment, he felt his limb slipping beneath him, giving him the impression that he might possibly collapse. But, with his determination, that was downright impossible.

A weak grin formed on his muzzle.

"Nah. I'll be fine."

As he turned around, physical abuse was launched against his chest, causing an immediate backwards flip.

Momentarily, the hedgehog felt for the ground, only to find nothing. His gloved hand fumbled about on the ground, his eyes wincing open at the impact area.

Pupils dilated, yet again.

He looked down, seeing nothing but the ragged edges of the craggy terrain below.

"Uh, oh."

Within a moment, he gave a tremendous leap towards a ledge, hoping to grip it before he would fall to his horrible death.

He succeeded… yet again.

His leg seared with morbid pain, causing him to recoil against the face of the cliff. Gripping the leg, the hedgehog groaned quietly, trying to bear the pain once more. One eye was barely open, and spotted the amount of liquid flowing throughout the limb.

The male flashed a quick look upwards.

"Gotta' get up there…."

Without hesitation, he gave the command to stand up, but barely managed the order at all. Limping towards a climbable rock, his eyes continued flickering slightly, but the green orbs refused to shut fully.

He gripped the edge with determination, wanting to get outta' there as quickly as possible… and for him, that was a second.

Continuing the hectic climb, he kept glancing upwards, searching for any other rocks he could use to go further. Gloved hands gripped them one by one, the red and white shoes following close behind, one leg rendering him quite helpless. Ignoring the annoying pain within his thigh, he gripped another rock, seeing the top edge of the cliff in sight.

"Heh. Almost there, buddy…." Oddly, he seemed to be speaking to his leg.

When he reached the top, his hands gripped the edge, trying to pull himself up… but when his eyes met with the above platform, he stopped.

Crimson irises were glaring at him.

A tanned muzzle was smirking at him.

A jet shoe was placed harshly on his gloved hand.

"Hello, Faker."

**-V-**

**Hope I didn't disappoint!**

**Anyone else readin'?**

**-Toxic : )**


	3. Cracked

**Hey, everyone! **

**Thanks for the reviews, guys!**

**Big thanks to: Lucy Labrador, sonicx2219, shade25 and Ghostkid33 for reviewing the last chappie! And lolsugerplum45, too! **

**Sorry it's been late. I was rather stumped on this one. But, I was persistent to get the next chapter up!**

**So, will Shadow throw Sonic off the cliff? Will there be a fight of some sort? Read on! :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog. All other related characters go to SEGA.**

**-S-**

"Shadow."

Emerald irises narrowed at the darker hedgehog, their owner feeling a sting of pain through both his leg and his hand.

Crimson irises glared back.

Sonic's hand didn't move, instead, the grip tightened on the edge of the cliff.

If his rival planned to throw him off, he could at least make harder for the darker one to do so.

Shadow's smirk was still plainly in sight, aggressiveness tugging at the corner of his grin. Flexing his gloved hand, Shadow continued his stare for a few more moments (looming over the blue blur), until the red orbs rested on Sonic's leg.

An unimpressed frown crossed the male's muzzle.

"Already got yourself into trouble, Faker?"

"Heh. You know me, never a dull moment." Grinning cockily, Sonic gave a humorous look.

"Hmph." Shadow's frown vanished yet again, only to form a smirk. "Too bad."

The weight on Sonic's hand grew heavier, making it somewhat harder to grip the edge.

Sonic heaved his legs from the sharp edges up onto the second, nearest ledge, eyes narrowing as he planned to make a jump-start on the enemy.

Narrowed, crimson orbs flashed a glance behind, as if their owner had heard something.

Sonic prepared to make his move, his fingers gripping the edge, tightly yet in a fumbled way.

Before he could do so, however, he felt the weight on the back of his hand subdue slightly.

"Huh?"

A flash of red shifted about within the ebony one's gaze, causing the seeing inceptors to narrow, suspiciously.

Sonic could only watch as his rival continued to stare at the opposite side of the area, and put this convenient time to good use.

The blue blur's shoes were kicked into the holes within the old, and decayed, cliff, the tip of red finding a lot more grip available. One gloved hand rested on the surface of the craggy terrain, whilst the other was pushed full-on into the ground itself, possibly causing multiple bruises around the hedgehog's fingers.

Pain seared through both the blue blur's leg, and, due to that, he couldn't suppress the pain within the form of a mere groan.

Big mistake.

The ruthless rival turned back to him, no longer smirking, but frowning instead. However, this frown was a somewhat fierce one, proving to the point that the 'Ultimate Life Form' was serious of this act.

The fastest thing alive could see that clearly.

Sonic lowered his head, trailing away from the death-like gaze and turning to the ground.

The black hedgehog pushed the hand further into the dirt, causing Sonic's hand to receive multiple rocky splinters. The jet shoe grew heavier, never ceasing the action which was taking place. Eyes were narrowed, and pearly, white fangs were clenched savagely.

"Any last regrets, Faker?"

Sonic didn't answer.

Shadow's expression grew somewhat severe, as the pressure on the blue blur's hand increased gravely.

Sonic raised his head a tad, the cocky grin hidden from his muzzle, and his eyes closing briefly. A chuckle escaped the azure hero's muzzle, as if this was the most amusing thing in Mobius.

The ebony one narrowed his eyes further, furrowing his eye ridges.

Had the hedgehog gone insane, or something?

Sonic lifted his un-injured leg onto another ledge, growing somewhat closer to reaching the high ground. Soon after, the other leg, now slick with crimson liquid, lifted slowly onto the next ledge.

The anti-hero folded his arms at this display, giving a small, 'Hmph,' as he went. After said action was taken, a deathly frown crossed the male's muzzle, overlapping the unsympathetic look which he once possessed.

Sonic gripped the surface of the platform, eyes burning with nothing but pure confidence and belief.

Three... Two... One...

The blue blur leapt upwards, throwing himself onto the black hedgehog. However, the attack became somewhat futile, as the blue hero was thrown elsewhere.

"Whoa!"

Sonic was hurled against a nearby tree, as the ebony one stepped closer, his eyes narrowing, and a smirk developing on his tanned muzzle.

"Still putting up a fight, Faker?"

Sonic grinned back, squinting at the hedgehog. "Heh. Well, what would you expect?"

"Hmph. I'd expect you to wise up, but it seems as if that's out of the question." A fist clenched, as Shadow took another step forward, the smirk broadening.

Sonic gripped the tree behind him, pulling himself up a little. "You got that right, buddy."

Shadow took another step forward, another fist clenched.

A few more moments of that silence passed.

And it was then, that Sonic yawned, deliberately trying to annoy his darker counterpart. "Oh, the to-the-death fight again."

Shadow's clenched fangs seemed to have something muttered through them.

The two were literally one step away from each other.

Shadow's hand quickly raised, his fist intending to meet with the hedgehog's face.

But, before anticipated action could be taken, Sonic shuffled to the side, causing the fist to strike the tree, and leave a rather large dent in it's place.

The blue hedgehog had his palms on the ground, his legs out, and his stomach facing outwards. Scratching his ear, he staggered back a little more.

Sonic's eyes widened at the dent mark. "Heh. Good thing I wasn't there."

Crimson orbs glared at him.

Emerald orbs narrowed in return.

Pulling himself up fully, Sonic gave a weak smile. "Well, Shadow... If you're tryin' to kill me, at least give me a chance to make it a lil' harder for ya'!"

That trademark smirk crossed the darkest shade of the tanned muzzle.

The blue hedgehog rubbed his leg, somewhat irritated as it continued to sting with pain. His eyes proceeded with resting on the ebony hedgehog, as he tried to estimate what the being would do.

As far as facts went, Shadow was 'full of surprises'.

They remained in the staring contest for a while now, and the most death-like stare seemed to be Shadow's own, (Which wasn't surprising).

Suddenly, the black blur clenched that fist again, causing the blue hero to prepare himself for a certain impact.

Sonic's leg was rather battered and fragile at that moment in time, but why did the fastest thing alive care about that then? Despite it being slick with the gruesome liquid, Sonic didn't bother with it much, as his attention was intent on the adversary.

Said enemy rushed forward, launching a stray fist at the hedgehog's head, who quickly ducked to avoid the impact.

The blue blur slipped a foot underneath the ebony creature's own, hoping to trip the foe up.

However, in turn, Shadow jumped in the air, as if expecting that, and launched another fist downwards, towards Sonic's cranium.

The rival flipped onto his stomach, rolling away and dodging the attack once more. Once that had occurred, a sharp pain struck the injured leg, causing immediate recoil to take place. A groan emitted from the muzzle, as the emerald eyes scanned the area.

A few moments of silence passed, and Shadow was nowhere to be seen.

"Huh?"

The question which was dwelling in his mind was immediately answered, as the hedgehog spotted something dark looming over him, outlined by thick sunlight.

A shadow.

"Uh, oh."

As quick as lightening, the hedgehog rolled out of the way again, as a fist hit thin air.

A grunt of annoyance was heard, the owner clearly irritated by the fact that the blue hedgehog failed to die.

Sonic gave a cheeky grin. "Looks like you're getting a little slow in the skaters, Shads."

"Shut it, Faker," came the snappy, threatening response.

Sonic rolled his eyes, shrugging a little as he sat upright. "What? Can't I point out your flaws? There's room for improvement! It just proves I'm faster than you."

"Hmph." A smirk fell on Shadow's tanned muzzle. "With a fractured leg, Faker?"

Sonic raised his hands in a defensive manner, his head looking away and his eyes closing. "I never said anythin' 'bout my leg being broken."

The ebony hedgehog gave a frown. "That red liquid suggests otherwise."

"I'm still fit enough to beat you hands down, buddy!" Sonic gave his confident grin yet again, pulling himself up, his leg in a somewhat limp position.

Shadow's voice was slick with monotony. "I highly doubt that remark."

Sonic's leg seemed to be giving way, but the infamous owner wouldn't allow it to do so. After such had happened, the azure body curled up, spinning in mid-air whilst aiming at the black hedgehog who was mere metres away.

Shaking his head slowly, Shadow jerked a step to the right as Sonic flew by.

The sharp quills situated on the hero's body chiselled at a palm tree, sawdust erupting from the impact. When it could saw no more, the quills stopped spinning, and limply fell to the ground.

The Ultimate Life Form took a few steps forward, flexing his gloved hands, and tugging at the white material. The careless frown on his tanned muzzle remained unchanged.

Sonic groaned a little, rubbing his head as he felt vibrations soar through it. Eventually, the odd occurrence ceased it's pain, and Sonic regained his sight.

Once up close, the darker mammal launched a devastating kick into the hedgehog's abdomen.

Sonic gave a small, unidentifiable yelp, and moved his still confident, believe it or not, gaze towards the adversary.

"Heh. Nice... shot... there, Shadow..." The speaker clutched his stomach, before trying to pull himself up again.

He failed.

Shadow watched impassively as the blue hero tried to lift his limp self off the ground, doing nothing more than raising an eye ridge, only to furrow them yet again. Boredom seemed to fill those red irises, as the owner lifted his fist yet again, and launched it forwards at a swifter rate.

To his surprise, it was stopped.

The opponent had gripped his clenched fist before it struck it's target, grinning weakly at the formidable foe.

"Can't let... ya'... do that, Shadow..."

Shadow raised his eye ridge yet again at the statement, before raising his other hand, his rings gleaming in the sunlight.

Sonic stared at the drawn back weapon, eyes widening a tad. They narrowed again.

Without warning, he found the power in his legs to push himself forward, suddenly switching into a roll with the rival.

Sonic punched at the enemy, his legs feeling that same sting of pain from before. Stray kicks and clouts were initiated at the black blur, but all seemed fairly weak.

Shadow, however, continued grunting whilst kicking his jet shoes, slamming them into the other's with devastating force. His hand did not cease to try and stop the many flailing fists being shoved against his face.

The two continued rolling, growing closer to the edge of the cliff, their azure and crimson irises clashing.

That blue leg was now severely beat up, somewhat causing the owner to groan involuntarily.

As it became Sonic's turn for his back to hit the floor, he felt nothing beneath it.

Pupils dilated, as they glanced behind, seeing the rim of the un-miss-able crag.

Shadow now had the upper hand, being the one on top of the fight.

That left the cobalt creature practically helpless, and the searing agony within his thigh still remained.

His head lingered over the edge, as gloved hands were wrapped around his neck, causing him to gag slightly.

"Ugh! Too... tight... Shadow...!" he choked out.

That deathly, grim line crossed the strangler's muzzle, eyes narrowing ruthlessly. "Is it? Pity."

The blue blur was barely given a chance to answer, as the grip tightened, pushing the hapless creature's head further over the border.

The floor cracked beneath them.

**-S-**

**Okay! I battled Writer's Block! And, guess what?**

**I WON! XD**

**Anyways, I hoped you liked this chappie! And I hope I didn't disappoint! (Forgive me if the battle was a little... boring. I do dreadfully suck at those. Heh, heh. ': ) )**

**Do check out the Poll on my Profile! :D**

**-Toxic : )**


	4. Sunk

**Hai, guys~!**

**Been a while since I updated, hasn't it?**

**Well, guess it has…**

**Sorry; been real busy, and my laptop resulted in being stashed away and ignored after broken-ness during a horrible scene involving an angry parent and a laptop… -_-'**

**So, I went extreme with typing when my laptop returned, now lovely fixed! Expect more chapters sometime, because I'm back~! And have a sure-er plot!**

**Enjoy this chapter, and hopefully, it'll rid of that earlier cliffhanger… possibly giving another one. ^^'**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog, or Shadow the Hedgehog; all rights go to SEGA, respectively.**

**s-S-s**

Silence dawned for a seconds, as the infuriating noise of weight cracking stone reached their highly pricked ears.

Shadow mumbled two words silently, hissing at the blue blur in front of him, "Damn it."

Sonic turned, giving a poker face in return, as his head fell through the edge, his body following as the ebony hedgehog tried to wrench himself away. Yet, there was a problem with that.

Sonic wouldn't let him.

"Buddy, if I'm going down, then I'm afraid you're gonna' go down with me!"

The other growled, then narrowed thickly loathing eyes, "Have it your way, Sonic."

Deliberately, the said creature forcefully pushed his clenched fist into the other's face, causing a yelp of agony, thus, he began leaning in on the helpless critter's face as he pushed himself forward, dragging them both down the cliff.

The blue body thrashed as it rolled down the steep hill that happened to be the face of the crag, its quills becoming a somewhat sickening azure, likewise for the darker furred one, despite how hard it was to see it. One look at Sonic was all one needed to declare he required a doctor, not a wrestling match, though lesser for Shadow.

All the Ultimate Lifeform wanted to do… was shove that Hell-bent pride down his rival's throat. And now seemed like the perfect time to do so.

Barrel-rolling was quite common in the violent debate as they stumbled about down the steep exterior, as was the kicking, punching and agonized grunting parts.

Sharp rocks were belittling them ahead, their dangerous edges taunting them to come closer, and ultimately, bringing them closer to their untimely doom:

Death.

Shadow flicked his head up, dodging unsystematic punches as he did so, eyes scanning the road ahead.

He saw nothing but protruding needles, rock-like needles.

It was then, that it was the blue blur's time to look at what his foe was pondering over, and it was then, that his own eyes naturally widened. He turned back to his enemy, suddenly intimidated by a startling stare.

A smirk, determined-looking blood red eyes, and a tightened, raised fist.

"Play dead, Faker."

Sonic's head swerved as the mammal launched a powerful blow, barely dodging the accurate attack as the head dove.

The speedster smirked. "Do I look like a dog to you, Shads? Go to the pet shop if you're THAT desperate for one."

"You little…" Furious growls erupted from the adversary's muzzle, his chest fur blowing in the wind as he neared his opponent's snarky face, trying to keep his calm. The last thing he wanted was to lose his proper mentality in a fight. "Not Shads… Shadow, Faker. Shadow."

A chuckle. "Heh, you sure are, Shadow! One of the best fakers around."

Shadow snarled angrily, as his patience came crumbling into a thin layer within his mind.

He didn't want to hold it.

He wanted to give this Faker everything he'd deserved thus far. And even if that amounted to death itself.

Seeing the distraction of anger present on the other's face, the blue blur kicked his foe in the shin, causing a disgruntled cry of pain to echo along the cliff.

"Good. Now we're even," Sonic stated, eyes abruptly glued to his own leg, which was bloody, and on the boundary of being torn apart.

At least one leg still worked.

The charcoal animal hefted another fist at his attacker, his irises burning with frustration and annoyance, who grinned in return.

"Sonic the Hedgehog… I promise you, from this moment, that your death will be certain!" He grimly smiled. "And you know I keep those."

Sonic pulled, bringing himself on top of the hedgehog, causing jade eyes to clash with crimson. He glared, continuing his resistance to the deadly point that it might fail. Bruising was suddenly present on the creature's face, despite his strong build, and the cobalt being smiled with jokeless eyes.

"Tired yet, Faker?"

Shadow's spines hit the horrible sharp rocks, the most, as the azure hero had made sure his back quills skidded down the edge, instead of allowing the barrel-roll to take charge.

"Y-you…! I am not the faker, here, you PITIFUL excuse for a hedgehog!"

"Hah! When you say it like that, you make me sound like a god, or something, compared to you. Not nice, is it, Shadow?"

Shadow's anger had subsided a moment ago, but now… he was a thousand times enraged.

"Your biggest mistake was underestimating me, hedgehog… You only have your inferior self to blame," he sneered, his right, gloved hand unclenching, revealing a dangerous dagger of light.

The hero of Mobius allowed his surprised face to present shocked, dilated pupils. "Wait… That's a—!"

" CHAOS… SPEAR!"

The spear shot by Sonic's face as fast as he could gather, slashing the side of his muzzle, and causing an unholy scream of agony to reverberate in his mouth. Sickeningly red liquid grazed his facial features, as he rubbed it, allowing Shadow to take charge as he clambered on top of the hapless hedgehog, bending his hands in an unnatural way.

"S-s-stop!" he yelled, pathetically, "Or… or… you'll go, too, Shads!"

Sonic yelped again, eyes squishing shut as he winced widely, feeling the horrible force of torture along his body.

"All talk and no brawn," Shadow coldly stated, his free hand brightening as it carried another spear of blinding white colliding into gold. "Should I end your misery? Or leave you to suffer?"

"S-s-show off," Sonic coughed, "I don't answer jerks…"

"A pity…" The ruthless anthro shoved a glare, "Because…you just did, Sonic."

Realization caused the foe to make his green orbs wide, sifting his mistake into the unforgiveable light. And, those eyes, they watched and expected helplessly as the spear was brought down to his neck, slashing his flesh and forcing blood to spill horribly onto the cliff, and a horrible scream…

Except… that didn't happen.

Up to that direct point, even Shadow had something he didn't intend on doing.

The edge. There was finally an impending edge, one that led all the way to the ground below, consisting of brutal rocks, sharp rocks, and even blunt ones.

The two gave a stunned expression as they both rolled off the end, pupils meeting each other as they glared with the same intent, 'This is **all** your _fault_, Faker.'

Soaring through the air, Shadow braced himself for an inevitable impact, which tormented him, calling him weak, unable, and a pitiable waste of life.

He growled at that.

Flowing through Sonic's head, was nothing but pure hope, let alone possible insanity, for what hazardous things had lied below had already vanished from his sights, into something that he feared the most.

This is all he thought:

'**Water, water, water, water, water… NO WATER… WATER… I hate water… For Chaos' sakes, don't put me in the water!'**

Honestly, if Shadow hadn't opened his eyes and noticed his rival's petrified features, he wouldn't have realized that there was a lake below him, a deep one at that.

Each being fell through the air, both in their respective states: Sonic screaming and flailing, and Shadow cool and calm.

**SPLASH!**

They both plunged into the sea-like lake within with one swift action, no matter how much one wished they didn't want to go in.

The black hedgehog looked up, mouth clamped shut as he tried to hold his breath. The light shone through the tip of the lake, to which he faintly frowned and kicked his legs, spreading his arms out as he performed a breast-stroke to surface.

Red eyes only caught a glint of the outside world for so long.

**CRUMBLE… RUMBLE…**

They looked up for only a smidge of a second, witnessing a rock-slide descending from the recently battered cliff edge.

He scowled, and then kicked his legs faster to emerge out of the other end of the pool, aiming on nothing but safety.

"**ARGH!"**

Not fast enough.

His legs were subject to the harsh, physical contact of the heavy stones, disabling their swimming use, and leaving a profound creature to howl out of anguish and aggravation.

Opposite this scene, Sonic was struggling to stay up, arms paddling about like a desperate dog trying to swim, and trying to reach a safe rock for grip.

Yep. One of the reasons he hated water, was because he couldn't swim. He knew he had others, but he couldn't remember what they were. Possibly, the temperature could be a result of it. Or the fact of how easy it was to drown.

His head shot to the edge of the cliff, searching for the obviously about rival, who always pulled through despite situations.

"That Shadow's gonna' pay for this…" he mumbled, spluttering shortly after he spoke those words. And then, he choked.

He saw the rocks still crumbling from above, and them falling into the anti-hero's side, who had supposedly gone that direction, earlier.

The water.

He stared.

Bubbles.

He blinked.

Faint bubbles.

He looked confused.

Bubbles flowing from beneath rocks.

He thought.

Was that a sign… that someone was breathing underwater?

Pupils dilated.

Maybe he—?

"**SHADOW!"**

**s-S-s**

All the poor hedgehog could see, was the blackness of the water, and he didn't see it for long, because he shut them to stop them from being completely sore.

What was in this stuff?

Shadow didn't want to know.

All he knew, was that he should've got out of the lake faster.

…

But could he have? His speed was pretty natural, on the ground, but it wasn't many times that he actually swam; his missions didn't tend to hold things like that, only rarely.

He really needed practice for neglected stuff like this.

'Humph,' he thought, trying to think clear despite his inner panic. 'Maybe in the next life, perhaps.'

He glared at the surface, eyelids lifting to see a figure retreating out of the water.

'And, obviously, Faker finds it amusing to just leave me here,' he mused. 'Have a nice day in the afterlife, Sonic… Because it won't be in heaven,' he promised silently, hand opening and revealing another bolt of whiteness.

"CHAOS… SPEAR!"

The yell came out, compelling the water to rush into the hedgehog's mouth, and his tiny, holding-its-breath nose.

He spluttered, yet calmed himself and watched as the spear surged through the liquid, aiming directly for the silhouette.

…And watched, distraught, as it missed.

His eyes blinked weakly, as his legs thrashed under the rocks, before slowly coming to a standstill.

They slowly shut, graceful in the way they did it, yet, they didn't notice a familiar shadow coming towards them.

Despite it all, Shadow knew death wasn't all bad as it was meant to be.

'**I'm coming, Maria…'**


	5. Fallen, but not Down

**Hai, guys~!**

**Another update for ya', in the same week, too!**

**Hopefully, new chapters will be speedier. Though, I can't go as fast as a certain blue hedgehog… V.V**

**Anyways, enjoy the chapter! And get rid the cliffhanger abuse! ;)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic, or Shadow, (much to my dismay,); all characters, mentioned or direct, go to SEGA, respectively.**

**s-S-s**

Sharp, spinning quills shot through the dark waters, regretting every moment they got drenched further.

'Shadow better pay me back for this… Chaos, I hate water!'

The seemingly obvious stranger stopped spinning, flailing his arms about frantically as he tried to keep himself in one spot. His gaze shot about the depths of the lake, only seeing plant-life below and random rocks which barely matched that of a rock slide.

His eyes were stinging after a little while, and to this, he just blinked, trying to wash away whatever this water was putting in his eyes.

Another reason why he hated water: he couldn't see properly.

"_**CHAOS… SPEAR!"**_

Sonic stared, shocked, as a bright, unforgiving light gushed through the current, heading straight in his direction.

A gasp emitted from his mouth, before he realized he needed air; he curled up, finding himself able spin as the shot approached; and, within seconds, the spear reflected off his quills, which spun so fast that they created a sort of temporary shield, had Sonic kept this act up.

'Whoa… That was a close one.'

Unfortunately, he couldn't keep this spin up, because his apparent paranoia of water was all that consumed his mind.

Anxious, jade eyes flicked a look downwards, seeing bubbles surrounding the area, as his own orbs were on the verge of becoming sleepy as he continued to lack oxygen.

'Oh… no… Not this hedgehog!'

His quills unenthusiastically spun again, spinning like blades as they shot downwards towards the many bubbles erupting from a slide of unmovable rocks.

As soon as he reached them, he came to a halt, bolting forward and grabbing a squabble of air for his precious lungs.

'Heh… Spinning around might actually work,' he thought. 'Better keep that as a back-up plan if I ever run into Egghead near oceans or something… but, seriously, I can't stand this stuff!'

He mentally sighed, disgusted at the water, but ignored it, (however, that was _pre-e-etty hard,)_ and looked towards the pile of debris in front of him, examining it with curiosity. Let's just say, he never saw a pile as mucky as this.

The rocks had potential of rotting, growing moss, or just breaking apart themselves. It didn't matter if Sonic or Shadow had stood on that boundary of the crag's edge above; it would've crumble effortlessly, anyway, whether or not someone had stood on it.

Out to the side, he saw a white piece of material plopping out of a jutting rock. A twitching piece, at that.

His brow raised, as he felt his red and white shoes touch the ground; he couldn't swim, but he could walk… along the lake's floor of course, despite it affecting his movement by minus a thousands MPH. Better yet, there were bubbles here…

Bubbles… Here…

At those previous thoughts, the blue blur rushed up to the side, eyes widening at the sight before him.

'Shadow…?!'

No truer words were spoken, and Sonic knelt down, eye ridges softening as he gave the, "sleeping creature," a hefty slap across the face, at least twice as a wake-up call.

Now, normally, if Shadow was awake at that point, he would've returned the slap, (gladly, with a side of a Chaos Blast…)… but he didn't.

Sonic looked more worried than ever.

Yeah, Shadow was his rival, had tried to murder him horribly, had scolded him for wit, had uncaringly insulted him and his pride thousands upon thousands of times, but…

Even Sonic had standards when it came to someone's life, in his trembling hands. Even a hero had standards; some of them always did.

And, with that mentioned…

Sonic still cared. Enemy, or not.

Hell, he would've even cared if it was the good Doctor himself, (And even despite HIS many attempts to eliminate the hedgehog, brutally, and dramatically, if possible,). He knew he'd just try and take over the world again, but, that's what made Sonic's life. That, and the large amount of random enemies appearing 'bout his past eras.

He blinked, cringing again as his sensitive eyes throbbed due to the water, then looked around, somewhat helplessly.

The darkness caved in on our blue hero again, causing that constant fear of water to dwell in his thoughts.

'…No,' he told himself. 'I know I HATE this… every living moment of it, but now, Shads' in trouble. Just have to forget… forget I'm in the water.'

He breathed in, accidentally opening his mouth and allowing water to spill inside.

The sapphire being spluttered violently, gagging, and then covered his mouth, realizing he couldn't believe that consideration as easily as he thought.

He turned to the air spheres, looking for oxygen, only to find nothing.

'…Damn it.'

Then, he turned to Shadow, only seeing small smidgets of air that were once bubbles.

'…Double damn it…' he cursed silently, then stared intently at his rival's opened mouth, (which was pretty much presented like the letter O,) 'don't die out on me, yet, Shads!'

A hasty look above was all it took for the hedgehog pull his spikes into effect, creating another spin dash as he sped upwards, closing in on the sunlight above the suddenly-lit, sparkling surface.

He soared out of the ocean-like puddle and into the clouds, for a meek moment, airborne like a dolphin doing tricks until it splashed into the murky waters once more.

This began causing the floundering arms and feet actions again, and spluttering, much to Sonic's utter dismay.

He couldn't _believe_ he was risking his life for that… that… faker!

He coughed again, inhaling more water as his panicking head bobbed frantically.

"Wretched, stupid… pfft! Water! Why did… pfft… it have to exist?!"

In the face of these questions, the male had known the answer; mostly to drink, to shower, (he disliked that option very much… though, less so than going to the sports centre's pool regularly,) and, to swim in, or drown.

He managed a calmer pose, though still failed to keep still in the water, even for a second.

Shaking his head, he peered down again, seeing nothing but the spreading shade. That unnerved him a bit, regardless of the detail that he'd already been on the lake's bed, mere moments ago. He discerned how bottomless it was, but the… thing was intimidating him, _again_, making it seem deeper than it actually was.

'Well… time to go in,' he mumbled, awkwardly to his conscience. 'That, or Shadow's gonna' be sleeping with the fishes.' He shuddered, 'I never understood that phrase… now that I do, I don't even wanna' think about it… Because if… '

That abrupt thought actually gave him more of an idea than a threat.

His hands clasped above the water, as he squeezed his fists together, then decompressed them, allowing air to remain inside without getting wet.

He knew Shadow needed air more than anything.

And, then, he dived, spin-dashing once more down to the pile of underwater rubble.

He came to a halt, the hands still clasped as they tried to keep the spare air trapped as their owner neared the black hedgehog's mouth. His hands were released at one end, which was at the foot of the mouth, allowing the oxygen to enter the other's body without fuss.

He smiled out of relief as the being coughed, who was only showing a faint light of life.

'Hang in there, buddy…'

Though, minds knew, breath wouldn't last that long.

Retreating a few steps back, the infamous hero of Mobius stood tall, slightly unnerved, but brave to the currents, and then, curled, launching himself directly at the massive quantity of fallen stones.

His quills shuddered violently as they met with the rocks, chiseling it, yet leaving the poor guy holding the skill to moan in pain.

Hopeless. That's what he was gonna' be if he didn't get Shadow outta' there!

This blue hedgehog wasn't about to give up!

The darkness began seeping into his since lost vision…

'No! Gotta' go faster!' he told himself, unknowingly reciting part of a theme song's lyrics.

His breath was sharp; he needed to breathe. **Now**…

'Keep… Gotta'… keep… going…'

He felt tired… dizzy, even…

'Nope! Not… now…'

The water pushed against his resisting muzzle; in spite of that failure, the liquid didn't lose in advancing through his nose…

'No…' A weak smirk formed, then a frown. 'Never… gonna'….'

His quills ached, like a thousand weights were thrust upon them…

'Can't…'

Sonic could see no longer.

**s-S-s**

The jungle was morbidly quiet, displaying the fact that something wrong had truly happened within its area.

The parrots had long stopped squawking; the bugs had long stopped crawling; the animals had long stopped on their path towards the lake.

They **all **avoided it.

…

Apart from one.

A muscular mammal stood in front of two, limp, drenched bodies: one was a blue hedgehog, and the other was an ebony one with crimson streaks.

He blinked at them both, unable to believe his horrible luck… or possibly, good luck, for them…

His red, wet fur ruffled his he knelt down, his eyes scanning the animals' faces, which comparisons weren't that surprising in both aspects.

The black being… his face was calm, at peace, sort of.

And the other one… the buffed up guy shook his head, dreadlocks following, seeing that the valiant one had braved the waters to save his friend, and, in all honesty, that actually surprised him…

He sighed, shaking his head before turning to the campfire behind him, which was blisteringly hot because he sat too close to it.

"OUCH!" he yelped, quietly, though tried to maintain his silent mouth, else risk waking the unconscious pair.

He rubbed his behind, cursing under his breath, stood, and then turned to the lavish area far ahead of him, which consisted of trees, and plants, each bearing different types of fruits, and more specifically for some, grapes…

He smiled sheepishly.

'Time to go get some grub.'

**s-S-s**

Sonic groaned in pain as he lifted his head, rubbing his temples as he sat up. He stretched, and then… opened his eyes.

Shock spread across his features as he felt the grass beneath him.

The muck under his hands.

The breeze against his quills.

The greenness about him.

He blinked, and then pulled himself up, before smirking righteously, as his hands peaked above his head, in a victory stance.

"YES! Sonic the Hedgehog has once again defied the great, almighty Death!" he declared, smug with his statement.

"Sonic the Hedgehog was _**lucky**_."

His head snapped to the right at that point, seeing his counterpart leaning on a palm tree, folding his arms and frowning as usual.

He raised an eye ridge. "Still alive, I see."

Shadow smirked. "You think I wouldn't be? That was easily done… solo."

"Uh, huh? Well… If it weren't for me, I don't think you'd be out here, buddy."

A scoff. "Right, Faker, and I'm a millionaire."

A silence, and Sonic stared at him hard.

"Are you?"

"No!" Shadow snapped. "I was being sarcastic, you stupid hedgehog."

"Thought G.U.N paid ya'… Eh." Sonic shrugged. "Whatever you say, but I still came in there to save your butt… So, you owe me…"

"I owe you?" Shadow chuckled lightly to himself. "Sonic, I don't owe you anything, apart from sniggering for your stupidity."

"Huh?"

"I'm immortal, Faker. I _can't _die."

Sonic sported a knowing smile. "Immortal means ageless, don't it? Not invincible. You could've been rotting in He—"

Shadow glared; knowing truth in the blue blur's statement, but forcing him into a false one.

"…Heaven."

Shadow moved his stern gaze, and his nose flicked to the fire, attention along with it.

"…Hm…"

Sonic joined his gaze, unable to completely understand what was going on.

"How do ya' think we ended up here?"

The black hedgehog was silent.

"There's a fire, so that must mean…"

Shadow looked up, an eye ridge raised as he glanced at a tree branch. "…Someone's here."

The seen creature smirked at them, dropping down onto the muck before picking himself up, his arms bearing fruit. "Hey, guys. 'Bout time you got up, slackers."

Sonic blinked, returning a smile moments later. "You get around a lot, don'tcha', Knux?"


	6. Suspicions

**Hai, guys~!**

**Sorry for the late update… I got addicted to a Sonic game… ^^ Ha, ha… That, and I was working on a few AMVs. I keep getting video block in the middle of 'em, though… *Sigh,* My self motivation sucks. And I got this terribly annoying cold… Darn sneezing is distracting me! COLDS! WHY MUST YOU EXIST?!**

**Anyways…**

**Thanks very much for the reviews: Lucy Labrador, ShallowTheHedgehog, Gina, Swan7, SonicMX, Goddess-of-Solar-Eclipses, (had to do previous reviews too, because, being a jerk I forgot to thank y'all!) SpiritofSilverWater, Guest, and CoolCat!**

**A little-extra long chappie! **** (Something in this chapter was determined by a poll on my profile.)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in the story. All characters go to SEGA.**

**s-S-s**

Inside the dark, dreary jungle, all animals were silent. The only sounds were that of the leaves blowing along the many trees and plants. Within a small, but hidden clearing, there was a camp fire, which burned brightly to allow light to spread about the area. Beside that, a few yards away, a rocky shelter stood, covered with green ivy.

A blue hedgehog stood in front of the dancing flames, eyeing the fruit at the opposite side hungrily with a growling stomach.

"Knux… Can we _please_ eat already?"

Knuckles was leaned against a tree's trunk, smirking with his behind sat comfortably on the murky grass whilst his hands held the clumps of fruit. "What's the rush?"

"'What's the rush?' Oh, I don't know… Maybe 'cause I'm practically STARVING?"

Arms were folded behind the echidna's dreadlocks, as he gave another, little smile. "Should've eaten something earlier, then."

Sonic glared at him. "Aw, c'mon! I'll take you on right now for 'em, jerk!"

The gullible one blinked. "Why would you fight over fruit?"

"Because, I'm hungry!"

"Well, that logic works…" The red one closed his eyes, frowning. "Go ahead and live with it."

"Alright, you asked for it, pal!"

"OUCH!" There was a curse. "Alright, hedgehog… I'm THROUGH with your _LITTLE_ GAMES!"

Shadow stood by the lake, watching its rippling water, ignoring the mad quarrel going on behind him.

He really wished his thinking time was better than this. The best bet he'd have on silence would probably be when they were both asleep. And that would be quite impossible, since the echidna claimed he would be staying up to keep watch, whatever that was. He asked himself what Knuckles had done before the pair came; the echidna must've stayed up late…

Shadow shook his head, his ears twitching as he heard the shouting gradually grow louder, to the point that it became redundant, and then incoherent.

How could they possibly start fighting when this forest contained more danger than ever foretold? Shadow knew something was up with this place, and he didn't like it… yet the other two would instead battle it out for fruit rather than keep their guard up?

He never quite understood the pair… They seemed too innocent to the fact that they could be in great peril. Not a while ago, Sonic had almost drowned, and Shadow couldn't imagine what the guardian had done to get them out.

"Hmm…"

"Hey, Shads!"

The ebony creature went stiff for a moment, before turning his head.

"My name is Shadow, hedgehog…" he growled. "What now—?"

His eyes went wide a little, as he saw the blue blur had pinned down the red creature's arms and legs; fruit sat in his left hand, trying to keep it away from the knucklehead.

"You want something to eat, buddy?"

Shadow merely folded his arms and gave his rival a stern stare.

"Give over, Sonic!" Knuckles thrashed against his rival, flailing his clenched fists with gritted teeth. "To think, an hour ago you were ALMOST dead!"

"Eh, I'm used to defying Death, so, yeah..." Sonic smirked at him, triumphantly leering. "Ya' give up, Knux?"

The helpless creature muttered something under his breath, before pushing the now retreating hedgehog off him.

Sonic gave a cocky grin to his counterpart, pointing at the being below him with a gesturing thumb. "Sometimes, he's a pushover."

As soon as Sonic got up, Knuckles pulled himself straight and leapt again, pinning his friend down, muzzle-wise, into the dirt.

He smirked. "Did I say, 'I give up,' hedgehog?"

"…_And_ sometimes, he's a jerk."

Shadow rolled his eyes.

If he didn't know any better, the two were going to have a full-fledged duel… over _fruit_… Well… the Ultimate Lifeform could get some amusement from that… possibly; it would depend on who was winning.

"Heh. Well, that's what you get for stealing," the guardian answered smugly, "and you know how I feel about stealing."

"Oh, yeah. I _really_ do," the blue blur stated, his eyes rolling. "'Cause the M.E gets stolen SO MANY times that I can't count…" His cocky smile returned. "Don't it, Knux?"

The red rival popped a vein and growled at that remark, but then closed his eyes and shook his head, dismissing the comment. "…I'll let you off on that little speech, Sonic; wasn't really nice, but I'll ignore it, anyway."

As calm as anyone could be, the crimson mammal pulled himself off the azure animal, and chucked the random fruits to him.

Sonic blinked at fruit in his own hands, and then at the keeper. "Wow. No riots? Way to kick temper's butt, Knux."

Knuckles rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, smiling. "Yeah… I've been working on it."

Shadow frowned, silently cursing. 'Pity there wasn't any blood shed about… Though, I see the echidna's been taking temperamental classes…'

"…But I'm surprised you can actually do that."

Knuckles plopped down onto the floor, glaring at the faster male. "Oh, yeah? WHY?"

"'Why?'" Sonic gave another triumphant smirk, propping his hands on his waist. "Because, you've got a short fuse. You couldn't hold your temper for however long you're gonna', Knuckles. It's part of your big system of life."

"Is it, really?"

The hero sat down, opposite the echidna, whilst snidely answering, "Yeah, because your dimwitted-ness doesn't allow you to hold it off."

"Uh, huh? So?"

"Your manhood isn't manly enough, so you can't hold your temper."

A deadly fist was shook in the air. "IF YOU'RE TRYING TO PISS ME OFF, HEDGEHOG, YOU'RE GOING THE RIGHT WAY AT IT!"

Shadow deadpanned in his thoughts. '…Or not.'

"Yeah, yeah, right, buddy… Can _please_ we eat now?"

"As long as I get to eat the gra—wait… what ARE you eating?"

The fastest thing alive was stuffing his face with little, green fruits.

"**SONIC-C-C-C-C-C!"**

**s-S-s**

The three were around the fire, two sat down and finishing their meals, and one ebony creature stood and watching the flames.

"Well, that was okay, Knux. Especially since it's better than eatin' ants!"

"Uh… Ants?" Knuckles questioned, leaning back on outstretched fists. "Oh, right… Yeah… Thanks, I guess."

The depressed look Sonic caught a few moments later caused him to give a worried frown. "Something up?"

"Nothing, Sonic. Just… thinking about home, y'know?"

"Home?" Sonic asked. "Isn't this Angel Island?"

Knuckles face-palmed. "Have you even seen the beach? Do you see endless skies within the, 'sea,'?"

"I thought it sunk… Then again, I don't see ya' sulking around that big emerald of yours like you usually do. But, seriously, did you lose the M.E again?"

The echidna growled, throwing his hands up out of exasperation. "Sonic… Do you think I'd _know_ my own island if I was sitting on it?"

…

Sonic looked at him, and then promptly opened his mouth, his hand raised.

"Don't answer that."

Shadow blinked at the flickering fire, thoughts rushing through his mind, and then turned to the red-furred creature. "Echidna, if this isn't your… home, then why are you here?"

"Same reason you're here, Shadow."

"Hm?" This answer caused the great Shadow the Hedgehog to halt in his folded-arms pose. "Might you explain that further? I don't think Faker here understands."

Sonic narrowed his eyes at his adversary. "Pfft! Yeah, _right_, Shads! More like you don't understand."

"Oh?" Shadow gave a malicious smirk. "Well, since you seem to understand Knuckles' reason _so_ well… Go ahead and explain it to us."

"Uh…" Sonic gave an awkward grin.

Both creatures watched him with faint curiosity.

"Um… Black Doom came back to life and teleported Knuckles here?"

Knuckles blinked. "Heh… Wow; if that had been precise, I'd actually be scared…"

Shadow lowered his brow, far from amused. "Either way, that assumption is random, Faker: why the hell would Doom do that to Knuckles?"

"He's a measly side character now!" Sonic dodged a rock. "I figured that big boss would want to give him the spotlight!"

Knux folded his arms. "Yeah, hedgehog… whatever. You're just jealous because I got the good hyper form…"

"Pink?" Sonic sniggered. "Mine's way better than yours!"

"Mine got attention, and yours got seizures."

"Moving on…" The black hedgehog folded his arms again, looking away. "The chances of Black Doom coming back are _extremely_ unlikely, Sonic."

"What?" the blue hero tilted his head. "You sayin' villains _don't_ come back? Eggman does all the time, so why can't Doo—?"

Within moments, Shadow had a Chaos Spear readied at Sonic's neck. "Say one more word to jinx it, hedgehog… and you'll wish you'd never been born."

Sonic attempted to push his rival away, his eyes wide at the weapon. "Okay, okay! Put the darn thing away, already."

The Ultimate Lifeform revived his previous pose, dusted his hands, and turned, again, to Knuckles. "Echidna? Explain."

"Look, I was searching for the Master Emerald, alright?"

Sonic shrugged. "For the millionth time?"

"Shut your yap for a second, Sonic." Knuckles shook his head, and then moved his attention to Shadow. "I ended up in some random jungle, and then I saw you two. Accidentally ended up in your little fight. Though, not the middle of it."

Shadow's pupils dilated a bit. "Chaos Control?"

"Yeah, that."

"Wait, wait, wait…" The blue blur scratched his head. "Knux… How the heck did you _accidentally_ get involved in our fight? You need to be touching either one of us to make Chaos Control happen for you… right?"

"…"

"Knuckles."

"…I don't wanna' talk about it, alright?"

Shadow gave the guardian a suspicious side-glance.

"Why not?" Sonic stood, with a fist raised. "Don't be backing out on the story now, coward! Not when it's about to get interesting!"

"I'm no coward, hedgehog…" Knuckles muttered, sat in the hedgehog's shadow but not intimidated by it. "And, don't push your luck. I've told you what I've told you. Stop getting all huffy about it."

"Alright, then…" Sonic placed his behind on the floor again, lying on his back, "…but it's on your head if it's important later!"

The echidna flexed his fists. "…You're right…"

Shadow gave another mistrustful look to the Master Emerald's protector, before turning his attention to the rock-strewn shelter ahead.

Knuckles gave a sigh, before leaning back on his fists once more. "You guys… what do you think of this place?"

"Huh?" Sonic gave a perked ear. "What do you mean?"

"I… don't know. It's just… to me, this place gives off a weird vibe."

"Well… I got attacked by a bunch of hostile rocks, so, yeah. It does."

The red hothead hadn't even noticed Sonic's wound up until this point. "Wait… rocks did that to your leg?"

"Yeah…" Sonic gave it a little shake. "Hurt like Hell when I decided to go swimming after Shads."

Shadow briefly stared at his counterpart, holding, as it seemed, a little sympathy.

"It should do. You were moving it," Knuckles pointed out, as-a-matter-of-factly.

"Not really," the blue blur answered, waving his hand and giving a wink. "I came up with my own little solution to survive."

"And it didn't last long."

"It did too!"

"Sonic… CPR was necessary."

"What the…?" Sonic paled a bit. "W-w-what?"

"You heard me, hedgehog," Knuckles replied, frowning a little.

With Sonic horrified at the discovery, the Ultimate Lifeform found it in himself to give a snide, little smirk.

"What're you smiling at, Shadow?" Knuckles asked, mirroring the hedgehog's expression and obviously knowing something the anti-hero didn't.

Shadow didn't even need to guess.

"Don't say another word," the black creature growled.

"Okay, then. I won't say another word about how you needed CPR."

"Shadow needed CPR?" Sonic recovered from his petrified state and began giggling until it evolved into hysteric laughter, "See! You got it, too, Shads!"

Shadow's right eye twitched, as a drop of sweat fell down beside it, and then a popping vein.

"Echidna, you will rue the day you were…"

A fist was held up, giving Shadow the signal to shut up, much to his dismay. If Knux had visible ears, they would've twitched.

His expression suddenly became anxious.

"Crap... _They're_ back."

Within moments, the echidna stood, bracing his fists as the two, confused hedgehogs watched him.

They blinked, still stood/sat in their respective states.

"Knux—?"

The redhead individual gave them a side-glance, revealing his muzzle which showed sharp, gritted fangs. "What're you waiting for? GET INSIDE!"

"Inside…? But… why?"

"Don't ask. JUST GET ON WITH IT!"

Sonic turned to the small shelter, to Knuckles, and then hesitantly nodded, understanding.

Within moments, Shadow found himself alone with the guardian, and, eventually, his own being stepping towards the Master Emerald's keeper.

What was the echidna hiding? That he so desperately needed both of them out of the way? He needed to know, because if there was a backstabber in his midst… Well, let's just say, Shadow didn't take well to traitors.

"Knuckles."

"Shadow? You still here?" The crimson mammal turned his head. "Shadow… You gotta' get inside!"

"Why ever do I need to do that? If you think you can just push me around like your little Master Emerald, echidna, you've got another thing coming."

"Look… Shadow, I know how this place is. You don't. See… I know I said this place weird-ed me out a little, but, really, I meant it. I mean… I understand some things what're going on, here… But… There's just some stuff here that you don't want to know about…"

Shadow clenched his fist, quirking a brow. "Oh? Pray tell, what is it?"

"There's no ti—!"

The Knucklehead barely had seconds to finish his sentence, and pushed the other out of the way, just allowing both of them to dodge a deadly wave of light.

"They got to us, already?!"

"What are you blabbering about? Who are they? What are you—?"

Knuckles tugged harshly at the other's quills, dragging him forever closer to the den, which stood with a dark, open doorway.

"Keep your mouth shut," Knuckles muttered, his grip on the black one intensifying, and adding quietly, "for Chaos' sakes, keep it shut for our lives."

He was anxious… No doubt about that.

What surprised Shadow most was that the echidna was backing down… He was straying away from a possible fight. Now, the old Knuckles didn't tend to do that; he'd jump up at a fight whenever he could. Thus, it's easily assumed that something was up.

"Trust me on this one. I couldn't even wage a battle right now. And I know how you think high of yourself, hedgehog… but you couldn't wage it, either."

…

"Fine…" the charcoal organism awkwardly grumbled.

Reluctantly, the Ultimate Lifeform gave in, deciding he should play along just to find out what the hell was going on here.

They both retreated into the den, Knuckles being the last one in. He fiddled with a random tree branch, and it slapped against the entrance, shielding their presence, but making the overgrown twig slap against Sonic's nose, (who had arrived at the doorway moments before to see why they were taking so long,).

He had cursed loudly, but a kick from Shadow caused him to give a silent groan.

The three remained silent, watching through the cracks in the leaves as a silhouette appeared outside their refuge.

"I swear, these guys are stalking me…" Knux whispered as quietly as he could.

They couldn't see well, but they made out a young Mobian wearing armor of sorts. Clad with black armor, which surrounded every single body part there was. In the hand, a semi-spherical blade laid. Bright, blue lights for eyes…

"Nothing found, here."

Moments on, two more shadows appeared: one of them had armor with a shade of red, eyes with a tint of blue, and a structure resembling that of a Gizoid; the other was simply the same as the first scout.

"There has to be a trespasser, or two... There's a fire here."

"I see and heard likewise… But, still… Nobody's here…"

"Hee, hee! Silly scouts. There is, there is~! You simply have yet to see it!"

The trio froze on the spot, fearing they had been detected, but were then relieved when they found the other group was actually looking through the shrubs, instead of their hideout.

The three scouts moved through the roots.

"Well, well, well… you couldn't hide for long, could you? I knew somebody was here."

"And, believe our luck, it's the same one who stole something of ours…"

"You poor, little outsider!"

"…You shouldn't take pity on the enemy, Scylla…"

"Oh, but I am not! Simply giving it a little confidence, as all! Hee, hee, hee!"

"…"

Then, all three of the strange figures pulled back, revealing them to be harshly gripping another familiar figure, who struggled in their sudden grasp.

"You ever heard of personal space?" The figure glared, kicking one of them in the shin intentionally.

"You little…!"

A determined scowl, "Keep your hands off me, bubs!"

"…This one has an attitude."

"Could be a problem..."

"Hee, hee! Not to worry, not to worry, my _dear_ friends! More fun to break! Though, all the fun for shall be for _him_, sadly!"

Knuckles felt a vein pop above his head as he tightened his fist, the ebony hedgehog beside him holding the same, enraged posture; anyone could tell they weren't very happy.

Sonic narrowed his eyes at the foes outside, as if trying to make the shapes: somehow, he'd seen them all before, in a distant memory he had long forgotten.

For what stood in front of them, trapped between the three enemies...

Was none other than Rouge the Bat.


End file.
